Omicron panic decimates Thai tourism "high season" - foreign tourists cancel, events scrapped, flights stopped, insurance woes

[Millcx]

3 hours ago, RandiRona said:

You cant handle the truth!!  Jack Nicholson

CONTROL 555555 … Now how is Anutin gonna make his money for an Easter break in Bahamas LOL

[4MyEgo]

6 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

Your words: "and the hospitals being flooded by their Citizens"  

Cherry picking, I will finish the sentence for you, "who will run there at the first wiff if they know they have Covid",

 

Must jet now.

 

Edited December 29, 2021 by 4MyEgo

[Sydebolle]

Well, and the beneficiaries are the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Senegal, Dominican Republic, Central and South American countries as they all allow vaccinated people without any extras into their countries with no major impact on their health system or the morgues .........
Meanwhile another few hundert hotels will go bust here as they cannot serve the interest payments on the bank loans, thousands of restaurants and street side kitchens will bite the dust. In March 2022 then, when people will voice their dissatisfaction, Anutin and his cronies can claim having "opened" the country on a "test & go" basis until the dirty farang brought in the Omicron variant = closing again. 

Some people at the helm have become very, very rich over the last two years = remember, money is never burnt but just changes sides ......... Who benefits of foreclosures and you have the answer! 

[stephenterry]

18 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

Make of it what you will, we just stay away from people in hope of not spreading whatever it is that we have, that said, holding the kids back from school would be pointless as the cat is well and truly out of the bag.

 

Yeah, let the kids spread it instead...

[sezze]

 

2 minutes ago, ourdon said:

 

The disease may be milder but I'm more interested in its' seeming ability to move to other organs in the body..  The only covid that could do that was/is responsible for the "long hauler syndrome.  

 

So the disease is not as initially brutal and deadly as Delta.  This is good.  It may take 6 months to a year to recover fully.  Not so good.

 

I'm going to be cautious as hell until a couple of my questions are answered.  This includes not suggesting someone else run out there and get infected

 

 

 

It is still needed to be cautious , since it still is a dangerous virus , and a new variant can come along fast ( as we seen with Omicron) , but if you are vaccinated you shouldn't be too afraid . It does not seem to be anything like Delta or previous Covid variants . For the time being , continue as you should with Delta , but considering all results so far ( check out daily infections which are record breaking in many countries vs hospital admissions ) , then you can be assured that it isn't bad .

[simola]

It’s not because of omicron, it’s because of the political decisions being made. There are choices. Data on omicron shows the world is having a massive overreaction. Enough is enough. Time to get back to living. 

[4MyEgo]

7 minutes ago, stephenterry said:

Yeah, let the kids spread it instead...

Did you not read what I said, half the classes had it, the cat is out of the bag, do you actually think holding the kids back would stop the spread, if so you could be classed as someone with delusional grandeur.

 

Edited December 29, 2021 by 4MyEgo

[ThaiFelix]

3 hours ago, ozfarang said:

But hospital admissions are not increasing dramatically.

Australian cases nearly doubled over night but hospital admissions only up slightly and ICU and ventilator case were down marginally.

If Thailand follows a trajectory similar to Australia then their health system will cope

Thailand is bigger than Omicron according to Anutin, so why would they copy a dirty farang country's success.

[hotchilli]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

The impact on tourists potentially testing positive once in Thailand is enough to tell them "no thanks" and persuade them to stay in the US and Europe for now

And after New Year the domestic tourism will follow suit.. Omicron will have been spread far and wide, regardless of it's severity it will have the same impact.

[Spock]

3 hours ago, LivinLOS said:

Actually USA deaths are now trending back up.. and the speed of the recent rises means your likely 2 plus weeks away from the current infections presenting in mortality figures. Omicron is milder but the infection rates are way way higher to compensate somewhat. 

The other issues are more economic.. People isolating on mass means lack of staff for services, a breakdown of these can lead to all kinds of economic chaos even with a mild virus. 

 

Lots of Americans are unvaccinated which makes a big difference to the consequences of people catching the virus. Australian case numbers are really high but over 90% in the states affected are vaccinated. High vaccine rates make a big difference to the severity of the infection.

[Antopolguy]

Hi were from the UK on holiday currently in aonang and from what I see the problems will arise from the arise from the arrogant tourists from Europe and the USA refusing to wear a mask in public not sanitising or wearing a mask on thier elbow as some kind of fashion statement and there's the old classic chin gaurd  mask which obviously does nothing it seems some people believe covid goes to bed at sundown also because theres a mask curfew after dark maybe the tourist police could be a bit more proactive in this area looking at it from a tourist point of view the thais have done a great job to welcome back tourists and were very grateful but please try and stop the idiots that think we're here now and do what we want we would like Thailand to stay open not be a rollercoaster of open and shut 

[hotchilli]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

The impact on tourists potentially testing positive once in Thailand is enough to tell them "no thanks" and persuade them to stay in the US and Europe for now. 

And after New Year the domestic tourism will follow suit.. Omicron will have been spread far and wide, regardless of it's severity it will have the same impact.

[MrJ2U]

1 hour ago, Muhendis said:

Like it.

What a vivid imagination you've got especially picking an old wind up with a digital display.

Come to think of it maybe Mother Nature is giving humanity nothing more than a big windup.

Well said.

 

Happy New Year!

[BusyB]

3 hours ago, LivinLOS said:

Actually USA deaths are now trending back up.. and the speed of the recent rises means your likely 2 plus weeks away from the current infections presenting in mortality figures. Omicron is milder but the infection rates are way way higher to compensate somewhat. 

The other issues are more economic.. People isolating on mass means lack of staff for services, a breakdown of these can lead to all kinds of economic chaos even with a mild virus. 

 

I suspect most haven't even noticed how many flights the airlines have had to cancel because of staff off sick. The same is beginning to bite across the economy ... everything from ATC to water suppliers and shops ...

It's not just about the medical services, it's about the whole economic infrastructure if everyone gets hit at the same time.

And all the talk about the low death rates in South Africa ignores that something like half the population is under 40, the group that is least affected.

[NobbyClarke]

No-one is certain yet regarding Omicron.

Yes, South Africa seems to think they have the answers.

How it will mutate, infect other countries is still a guessing game.

I listen to the scientists and doctors.

Maybe I am wrong!!!

[JackGats]

First thing to do: stop sending asymptomatic cases into hospitals.

[suestra29]

Too difficult to get into the country because of all of forms etc and when you do the dreaded 7 days in a hotel in quarantine. 
 

[Caldera]

I think it isn't a matter of tourists panicking, but of Thailand's ever changing, ridiculous entry procedures.

 

If they were simply asking for a pre departure PCR test and proof of vaccination, they could have many more tourists. Not many people are going to take the chance that they might test positive after arrival and consequently are being locked up in one form or another and separated from their family instead of enjoying their holiday. 

Edited December 29, 2021 by Caldera

[Dialemco]

The answer is stay at home save your money for better times without tracking apps and quarantine holidays.

[Andycoops]

Don't forget there's another variant just around the corner, as like all flu type viruses.

[AnotherFarang8]

4 hours ago, ozfarang said:

But hospital admissions are not increasing dramatically.

Australian cases nearly doubled over night but hospital admissions only up slightly and ICU and ventilator case were down marginally.

If Thailand follows a trajectory similar to Australia then their health system will cope

This isn’t the point. The worldwide trend has been to keep fear mongering to install more tight population controls. Until population wakes up to this fact, this sh.tshow will carry on.

[ourmanflint]

Mad to travel now? Yes probably, but wife hasn't seen family for 2 years so we're coming. Life in the UK with current omicron surge feels no different to a few weeks ago except more people are wearing masks, which is a good thing, so I expect life in Thailand will be pretty much the same as before as well.

We're not tourists so won't be doing tourist things, no bars, no clubs, no busy tourist hotspots. 

If we don't come now, it's unlikely we could get there until October, which is too long to wait. Things with Omicron in Thailand will probably reach a peak in a months time or so, and the opportunity to skip full quarantine by doing test & go is just too good to miss.

 

[candide]

2 hours ago, Enoon said:

Rising UK cases are irrelevant in light of the fact that deaths continue to fall and the average length of stay for a hospital admission is 3 days.

 

Because:

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/28/omicron-is-not-the-same-disease-as-earlier-covid-waves-says-uk-scientist

 

 

 

 

+ Also UK got it right, at the beginning of the year, with its exemplary Vaccine initiative, and is now doing so again with its Booster programme:

 

 

 

For the UK it's swiftly going from (briefly) "just flu" and more towards "another cold".

 

The major problem is the effect on ordinary, everyday life, as pointless self isolating is "de-staffing" and damaging vast swathes of the socio-economic infrastructure.

 

Of course the former can't be true for those countries who, hubristically, managed to **** up during "half-time".........no names mentioned.

 

But they still get the socio-economic meltdown.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's obvious that Omicron is less lethal than other variants. However, the curves you show should not be innacurately interpreted. Deaths never happen the day people are infected. There is usually a delay of one or two weeks before people actually die. So you cannot compare the number of infected people at one point of time with the number of deaths at the same.

The effect on deaths of the peak shown on the first figure cannot be assessed before at least 10 days.

[2 is 1]

50 minutes ago, Sydebolle said:

Well, and the beneficiaries are the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Senegal, Dominican Republic, Central and South American countries as they all allow vaccinated people without any extras into their countries with no major impact on their health system or the morgues .........
Meanwhile another few hundert hotels will go bust here as they cannot serve the interest payments on the bank loans, thousands of restaurants and street side kitchens will bite the dust. In March 2022 then, when people will voice their dissatisfaction, Anutin and his cronies can claim having "opened" the country on a "test & go" basis until the dirty farang brought in the Omicron variant = closing again. 

Some people at the helm have become very, very rich over the last two years = remember, money is never burnt but just changes sides ......... Who benefits of foreclosures and you have the answer! 

Nobody don't need wonder why Thailand choose Chinese vaccine and not "western" one! Even vaccine they choose is less effective and more expensive! I can tell you in this case brown envelope not chance owner, it was huge black suitcase!

[bougnat]

So if the hospital system should explode, and it explodes, it might be a good thing if this virus is benign. While most are infected and treated with the effective antibiotics available and which have worked very well for decades. Then the population will be immunized with real natural anti-bodies which will prevail in the organism, unlike these pseudo-vaccines, none of which really bear the name. A little courage and common sense, and a lot of pedagogy and Thailand will have made a big step forward. Enough of these retreats, of renouncements, of these leaders who panic like college girls, incapable of the slightest daring decision as they are so preoccupied by their re-election.

[candide]

57 minutes ago, Antopolguy said:

Hi were from the UK on holiday currently in aonang and from what I see the problems will arise from the arise from the arrogant tourists from Europe and the USA refusing to wear a mask in public not sanitising or wearing a mask on thier elbow as some kind of fashion statement and there's the old classic chin gaurd  mask which obviously does nothing it seems some people believe covid goes to bed at sundown also because theres a mask curfew after dark maybe the tourist police could be a bit more proactive in this area looking at it from a tourist point of view the thais have done a great job to welcome back tourists and were very grateful but please try and stop the idiots that think we're here now and do what we want we would like Thailand to stay open not be a rollercoaster of open and shut 

Some tourists don't wear masks but there are also many tourists who actually wear masks. On top of it, It's not really useful to wear a mask outside unless It's crowded.

The real risk in inside bars, restaurants, etc... and tourists and Thai alike don't wear masks there. That's where most contamination occurs. And It's not only tourists who go out. There are plenty of places where Thai people gather, and I don't often see a table with less than four or five people together. Two days ago I wanted to bring Thai lady to a popular Issan place, you know huge place with a band and plenty of tables, and there were nurses doing tests near the entrance and it wasn't for no reason. Lady was not happy (????) but I did not want to get in.

 

I am surprised so many posters are buying the government propaganda and continuously play the blame game against tourists.

Edited December 29, 2021 by candide

[Toany]

It is the Thai Government and their outdated quarantine that is scaring tourists away.  The news of people losing the Test and Go gamble on a negative test and losing is spreading.

[Sheryl]

1 hour ago, bradiston said:

"Falling ill" is too loose a term. If they return a positive test, they are obliged to stay at home. That's the problem. They might well feel fine. It's the shortage of hospital staff that has become the problem now, not the queues of sick people, surely.

Hospitals in many places are filling up. In some places there is little ICU capacity left.

[Sheryl]

27 minutes ago, bougnat said:

So if the hospital system should explode, and it explodes, it might be a good thing if this virus is benign.

When hospital systems are overloaded people with other illness cannot get care.

Important surgeries and  procedures cancer screening etc) get delayed, sometimes for many months. This leads to excess deaths from diseases other than COVID.

 

[StayinThailand2much]

4 hours ago, edwinchester said:

"....many are facing losses after miscalculating the cost of policies."

 

Oh dear, how sad, nevermind.

 

They'll just charge double or thrice for future policies - problem solved...